IPOD Challenge
by Betty BOKOR
Summary: Mary/Marshall. Contribution to the challenge while trying to add to the other stories.
1. Chapter 1

**IPOD Challenge** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**IPOD Challenge**

_**A.N. Though I have not enough time to add to my story this week, I did this while waiting for my son who was playing laser tag. My songs are mostly love songs and I am probably older than most writers here, so my selection may be hard to identify with. No song fics at all; just what came while listening to the random songs.**_

**To Make You Feel My Love**** –** **Billy Joel**

He looked at her and his heart hurt. He would do anything for her, but there were days like this when there was nothing he could do but to be there.

He walked past Stan and hugged her. She was alive and that was more than he had really expected. He had _hoped_ nevertheless, furiously praying to a God he not always felt as close as when he was a child.

They walked together out of the basement and as they reached the street she hesitated, as if the sunlight hurt her, and then took a deep breath in the cool morning air.

He held her close and took his own deep breath. There was nothing he would not do for her, except tell her how much he loved her, but he would keep trying to show her because, from the very beginning, he had always known that they belonged together… And today she was there, alive, by his side, and that meant they still had a chance.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**For the First Time**** – Rod Stewart**

She looked at Marshall's eyes one more time and shivered.

Stan had made sure they both attended one more of those insufferable law enforcement parties. Marshall had spent the night shamelessly flirting with the FBI profiler sitting by his side, a young woman Mary had found annoying from the start. When another officer had asked the girl to dance, Mary had, to Marshall's surprise, accepted his own invitation, without knowing why herself.

After that, everything had changed. The music had become slower and the couples on the floor had gotten closer and started dancing to the soft songs.

Marshall had gently embraced her and she had lowered her head onto his chest without thinking. She had not felt that peaceful since long before her break-up with Raph, almost two months ago.

Slowly, as they danced, she had realized how much she enjoyed that closeness to him and, when she had looked into his eyes, she had finally seen what had been hiding in them for so long. That _had_ to be love. She was not sure she had seen it that clear before; she was pretty certain she did not deserve it, but, now that she had found it, she knew she would not be able to live without it again. Without _him_ again.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**The Part Where You Let Go**** – Hem**

She had driven the last half of the way home. She parked in Marshall's driveway and waited for him to get out of the SUV and take his bag from the back seat. She waited a little longer until he silently went into his house and closed the door behind him.

She was about to leave, when something inside her pushed her out of the vehicle.

She walked to his door and pushed. It was unlocked and she knew it.

She hurried and caught up with him as he entered his bedroom. He turned to her and she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him. Marshall softly began to cry, but Mary did not let go. Norman was dead and there was nothing she could do for him, but she would be there for Marshall, because _she knew her partner_ and she knew how hard it had hit him to lose his witness like that. And because there was nowhere else in the world where she would rather be.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**Fall Into Me**** – Emerson Drive**

She had changed since the day she had found Raph kissing Brandi. She had confessed to Marshall that she had not really been surprised. In fact, she had seen it coming way before they did. Then, she had forgiven both of them and given her blessing to their new relationship.

That had been the first sign of the change. Stan attributed it to Marshall's influence on her; Marshall thought she had gone insane.

Nevertheless, she was definitely different now. Not many people could see it, but Marshall knew her too well. She was her rough, direct, rude self with everybody else, but Marshall noticed the long silences, the sadness in her eyes, the disappointment.

There was only one thing he could do. He had to let her know that she could always count on him, that he would never betray her.

He was certain she could not see it, she could not see _him_, up until the day when, instead of saying good-bye by his door, she stood on her toes and kissed him.

"I'm trusting you with my soul here," she whispered. "If you let me down, doofus, I don't know…"

He stopped her with a finger on her lips. "Believe in me, Mar. You're home; your soul is safe here."

She instinctively knew it was true. She smiled and followed him through his open door.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**She's Always a Woman to Me**** – Billy Joel **

Marshall tried harder at hiding his smile. It always amused him to see other marshals trying to deal with Mary. It was not really easy for him either, but he knew her enough to be able to maneuver with and around her.

An older marshal turned to him with surprise in his eyes as Mary let out another expletive and Marshall shrugged. He knew they would get the job done, fast, efficiently, and effortlessly, because she was good at it, one of the best, and he trusted her with his life.

He smiled one more time as the others looked at each other astonished after Mary's last comment. He picked up his weapon from his desk and walked to them.

"If you all understood what the lady said, then we're ready to move. Any questions?"

Mary looked at him with ire in her eyes but the others readied for the mission without a word. Marshall led them out of the office as Stan looked with a smile of his own. Mary might not be a conventional lady, but she surely was a fine one.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**Volver a hablar**** – Patricia Sosa**

"He's _in love_ with you, Mary!" Eleanor had yelled before stomping out of the office with anger.

The words still burned in Mary's ears. It took her hours of careful analysis of the past years to realize that perhaps Eleanor was right. There had been many signs, but she had carefully avoided reading them.

Then, it took many hours of painful introspection to realize that she loved him, too.

Now, he was getting a transfer because she had made it impossible for him to stay by her side.

She drove home and confronted Raph. She told him she could not marry him because she had realized that there was one man she could not live without and it was not him.

To her surprise, Raph seemed relieved.

Then, she drove to Marshall's. When he opened the door, she was shocked to see the truth in his light eyes. She had much to make up for, but she knew he would not leave because she had stopped searching for happiness far from him. She had already found it and it was standing right in front of her.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**What Hurts the Most**** – Rascal Flatts**

Sometimes it felt like he would not be able to take another breath. Others, it was exhilarating. He loved her and there was nothing that could change that, but now and then the pain was unbearable. He was resigned to love her from afar, to hold her hand, to wipe her tears, but, every day, when she went home to another fight, his heart ached. He would do anything to save her. He hated to see her suffer.

His mind cruelly kept imagining her happy with him and picturing what they could have together. His lips kept trying to tell her. His hands kept trying to show her.

The day she said she had ended her relationship with Raph, Marshall finally breathed with relief. He had expected it. He had hoped for it, even if only for her own good.

What he had not expected was to be the reason for the break-up.

All the feelings he had been keeping from her shone in his eyes and everything he had wanted to say escaped his lips. For the first time in a long time, his smile was completely genuine. For the first time, he did not hurt when he got so close to her. For the first time, dream became reality.

There was nothing else to ask for.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**I Don't Want to Miss a Thing**** – Aerosmith**

He held himself up on his arm just to get a better view. She was lying face down under the covers, looking toward the wall, but it did not matter. Just to see the rebellious strands of her hair falling everywhere was enough.

She was there; it was not a dream. They had made love and it had been every bit as fabulous as he had thought it would be… and even better, because in all of his fantasies she had always left him to spend the night alone, but, now, she was there and she was not going anywhere.

"What are you doing, doofus? I know you're not sleeping. I know how you breathe when you sleep," she mumbled from under her hair.

He lay down by her side and she spooned against him.

"You can stop standing guard now. I'm not about to disappear into thin air. I'm here to stay."

"I know," he acknowledged softly.

"Good," she said as she turned to see him, "because now that you woke me up, you'd better find something to keep me entertained."

He smiled and leaned to kiss her. "Your wishes are my command."

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**Symphony Nº 5 In D Major, Adagietto**** – Gustav Mahler**

She opened her eyes and realized it probably was night already. She could only see the few lights of the machines around her and their humming was the only sound she could hear.

She did not know how long she had been lying in that bed, but she silently thanked God, just in case He really existed, for being alive. She also thanked the painkillers running through her veins. She was certain there was a pretty deep hole somewhere in her abdomen.

As her eyes grew accustomed to the darkness, she realized someone was sitting by her side, sleeping in an uncomfortable looking chair, gently holding her hand.

"_Numb nuts!_" she thought. Only he could be there at those hours guarding her sleep.

She felt thankful. She was not sure she would have liked to wake up alone in that place. Her last memories were confusing and mostly related to pain.

She noticed he was listening to music. She carefully slipped her hand out of his without waking him up and pulled the cord of the earphones he had in his ears. One of the earpieces fell onto the bed and she brought it to her own ear.

She should have known. Classical music. She slowly turned his media player and read._ Mahler_… Okay. It sounded sweet and sad. It was calming.

She started feeling sleepy again, but before Morpheus took her she wanted to put her hand back in his. For a second she stopped to consider the fact that she had just named the Greek god of dreams by his proper name and an involuntary insult escaped her lips in Marshall's direction. The things he put in her head…

Then she smiled and squeezed his hand right before falling back asleep.

Marshall woke up, noticed she was still sleeping but realized one of his earphones was in her ear. He smiled and went back to sleep himself. She was going to be fine.

…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………**...**

**Falling Slowly**** – Glen Hansard** **and Markéta Irglová **

Mary was not sure she knew Marshall anymore. In the last weeks he had become a shadow of himself. Even the banter between them had almost disappeared.

She acknowledged that she had not spent much time with him lately. She had been trying to make herself enthusiastic about her upcoming wedding, but it had not worked well. She had ended up accepting the truth and breaking off the engagement. She did not love Raph the way she should if she wanted to commit to spending the rest of her life with him.

Nevertheless, she had been unable to tell the truth to her coworkers. Tonight she was at Marshall's door, finally ready to tell him about her new failure.

As soon as she opened the door, she knew he had drunk too much. He did not seem inebriated, but she knew him well and saw the signs.

"What's going on?" she asked as she came in.

He sat on his favorite armchair and smiled sadly, "I'm sinking, Mar."

She could not understand _exactly_ what he meant, but somehow she knew it was her fault and she also knew what she needed to do. "Well, you won't drown as long as I'm here."

"You'll have to go back to him… sooner or later," he countered.

"Not anymore," she whispered as she sat at his feet and held his hand.

And then she saw it. The wind calmed down, the thunder quieted, and the storm slowly left his eyes until they became their usual peaceful blue.

He had his anchor back and he could fight any tempest now.

**_Please, let me know if there was one you liked best. Thanks!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**IPOD Challenge** by Betty Bokor  
Mary/Marshall.  
Spoilers: All episodes, including Second Season Finale.  
Disclaimer: The In Plain Sight original characters belong to USA Network and Universal Media Studios (UMS). This was written strictly for the purpose of entertainment. No attempt at copyright infringement has been made.

**IPOD Challenge Plus**

_**A.N. Stranded in Boston, hoping planes will take off tomorrow, I recycled this little bit. I also just started a group for M/M fans. I would like to get together with other witers who enjoy this pairing to share opinions, stories, pictures, and also information about the show and its canon. To join, go to my profile and find the link (that cannot be put in this page, you know).**_

**Sonata for Cello and Piano Nº 3 In G Minor - Adagio – Johann Sebastian Bach **

Mary turned in bed and looked at him. Every time she woke up and saw him by her side, she felt the same sensation of awe and joy. She remembered the first time she had seen him, when she had felt intrigued by the tall and slim man who would be her new partner.

_"He won't last a month with me,"_ she had thought.

She had been wrong. He had slowly become her best friend —her only friend— and it had been easier to see him in another light; just not the way he wanted her to see him.

That had changed after being shot while protecting ungrateful Francesca. Though she had recovered and had suffered no lasting effects, she had felt the whole experience as decisive in her life. Not even her kidnapping had affected her that much.

For the first time she had clearly seen all the flaws of her relationship with Rafael. When she had faced him with her new insight, he had not been surprised at all and had accepted their break-up as something he had already foreseen coming.

Mary had also set clearer parameters for her relationship with her mother and sister and had consciously put an end to her useless wait for her father's return.

Her only source of strength during those days of life-altering decisions had been Marshall, always there for her when her family was not; always ready with the right word to save her from herself.

That was when she had started seeing him as a man and not just a badass marshal or an unconditional friend.

Her love for him had transformed from friendship to need and desire and she had not wasted time; she had let him know the first chance she got. Still apprehensive, he had confessed his long-hidden love for her and there had been no more need for words.

Now they were together, but, every morning after she woke up by his side, she felt wonder and amazement that he still loved her as she was. Marshall had proven her that she deserved to be loved unconditionally and she could not find enough ways to love him back.

It seemed that, after all, happiness was possible.

**_Please, let me know if you liked it. Thanks!_**


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